Route Stock Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 (about $20)

About the Wine:  Napa Valley needs no introduction in the wine world and the 2010 vintage is considered by some to be the new 2007 (not by me, but by some.)  To find a bottle at this price is intriguing to say the least.

About \THIS Wine:  The color is seriously dark, opaque with a dark purple rim.  The nose presents a lot of dark fruit and a mineral, wet asphalt quality that I have only ever experienced in wine made from Mount Veeder fruit, leading me to suspect that many of the grapes were sourced from there.  That minerality defines the palate with a humming undertone of red fruit.  The wine finishes with dark fruit and subtle tannin.

Drinking This Wine:  This could work as a sipping wine but a Cab that doesn't go with red meat is hardly a cab at all. 

Overall Impression:  Drinks like a bottle costing twice the price.  At twenty bucks, this one is a steal.

Three Rivers Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 (about $17)

About the Wine:  2009 was a terrible vintage for most of the West Coast but sometimes that works in favor of bargain hunters.  In a bad vintage, better wineries often declassify a great deal of their fruit into lesser labels or sell it off to other wineries, meaning the cheap stuff gets better grapes.  We'll see how that works out for this wine.

About THIS Wine:  In the glass it is dark purple with a violet rim.  Charred oak is heavy on the nose, perhaps a bit overdone, but jammy plum does come through.  Smoke and oak spice are prominent on the palate with the fruit components relegated to the finish.

Drinking This Wine:  This would really pair well with a beef and rice dish.  It is not big enough for steak but it is definitely looking for a meaty pairing.

Overall Impression:  The wine is drinking now, has a unique flavor as is pleasant to taste.  At seventeen dollars a bottle it is reasonable for the price.

Pasquet Bordeaux 2010 (about $20)

About the Wine:  I first tasted this wine about a year ago and was thoroughly unimpressed.  My coworkers who tried it variously described it as "gross", "awful", and "Water the plants with it."  One of my coworkers recently re-tasted it and said "It's singing now."

About THIS Wine:  In the glass it is opaque with a purple rim.  The nose is very grapey with some charred oak notes.  The palate is bland with an oak bite toward the finish.

Drinking This Wine:  I had it with beef and noodles.  I guess we'll go with that.

Overall Impression:  If this wine is singing then it is still badly out of tune.  It is certainly better than it was a year ago and I may re-taste it in another year (I do not foresee selling out of it)  but nothing about it impresses me and at twenty dollars a bottle it is badly overpriced.

Louis Martini Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 (about $16)

About the Wine:  Though this is a California producer, Louis Martini follows the old world tradition of making multiple products with maddeningly similar labels.  For example, this is their Sonoma County Cab as opposed to the Alexander Valley Cab, which is about five dollars a bottle more.  You know this by looking at the single line of type under the cursive writing that says "Cabernet Sauvignon".  Seriously, Louis Martini, if I want to play "Where's Waldo" with vital information about the wine I'm buying then I would buy Burgundy.

About THIS Wine:  Green pepper is dominant on the nose,as one would expect from such a young Cab, but it is backed by jammy fruit.  The palate is smooth and fruity.  The finish is tannic but not nearly as gripping as one would expect for such a young Cabernet.

Drinking This Wine:  The tannins are prominent enough that this would do well with some food.  Beef and rice comes to mind as a good pairing.  It is not so bracing as to need a bloody steak but a meat dish is definitely in order.

Overall Impression:  I have always taken a certain pride in hating Gallo Family products so it pains me to say that this one is good for the price.  If you're wondering, the way to tell if a wine is a Gallo Family product is to ask, "Is it from California and have I heard of it?"  If you answer yes to both then there's about a fifty/fifty chance that it's a Gallo product.

Santa Alicia Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 2011 (about $12)

About the Wine:  In European countries there are strict rules about what may be labeled as "reserva", "riserva", or any variation thereof.  South America does not, as a rule, have those kinds of restrictions.  This is unfortunate because it means that some wineries throw the reserva label on anything.  The fact that this bottle is a screw cap makes me somewhat dubious about the choice of labels. That said, I have seen genuine reservas in this price range where the non reserva of the same wine is $9 or something like that.

About THIS Wine:  This one is opaque in the glass with a purple rim.  The nose is heavy with the green pepper notes one would expect from a Cab this young.  A musky quality is also present.  The palate is dry and smooth with sweet red fruit on the finish.

Drinking This Wine:  Pop and pour.  It needs all of fifteen minutes of decanting.  It works well as a sipping wine but would also be good with a burger.

Overall Impression:  Pleasant, easy to drink, and cheap.  This reserva could easily sell for fifteen dollars or more and at twelve it is a good value.

Domingo Molina Hermanos Cafayate Cabernet-Malbec 2011 (about $18)

About the Wine: Argentina is best known for its Malbec, which is a bit of a shame since many of the Cabs from there fight well above their weight class in terms of price to quality ratio.  A Cab/Malbec blend is probably as good a way as any to introduce drinkers to this expression of a familiar grape, assuming the wine is any good, of course.

About THIS Wine:  In the glass it is opaque with a purple rim.  Some chocolate and coffee notes are present on the nose on first opening but those quickly give way to aromas of burnt cedar.  My guess is that this spent a lot of time in charred oak barrels.  Oak is strong on the palate but heavy green pepper also comes through along with and undercurrent of plum.  Spice lingers in the finish.

Drinking This Wine:  This is a rich, racy wine that needs food.  Enjoy it with grilled hamburger and Spanish rice.  This wine was not meant to age and the cork is synthetic, so you could not really age it if you wanted to.

Overall Impression:  This is a pleasant reminder of everything I love about New World wine.  It is vibrant, rich, and unique.  If the label said "California" then this would be a thirty dollar bottle.  At eighteen it is a steal.

Bosco Dei Ricci Langhe Nebbiolo 2009 about $15

About the Wine:  Nebbiolo is the grape used to make Barolo and Barbaresco.  Those are Italian terms meaning "expensive" and "pretentious".  Or the names of two villages where Nebbiolo is grown.  I forget which.  Barolos especially require years and sometimes decades of aging to reach maturity and it is all but impossible to get a good one for under forty dollars.  While young Nebbiolos can't really compete they can provide a full bodied wine with a lot of structure at a reasonable price.

About THIS Wine:  The center is dark red with a pink rim.  Slightly sour red fruit with hints of tobacco make up the nose.  Those flavors deliver on a palate with some pretty fierce tannins and a hot finish. 

Drinking This Wine:  This needs at least an hour of decanting and I think you would get best results but popping the cork in the morning, putting the cork back in, and having it with supper.  You could also age this a few years, though I have never heard of anyone cellaring a fifteen dollar bottle.  Having with a hearty pasta dish.

Overall Impression:  I am of two minds on this one.  It is not really ready to drink but it definitely an Old World wine with a classic tannin structure and it is hard to find anything like that in this price range.  If that is your taste then this wine is a good value.